An unexpected way to turn snack time into together time -- even with older kids.

My kids are wiped when they get home from school. They always seem to need a snack to recharge and a bit of time to zone out before gearing up for the rest of their day, whether it be for basketball practice, homework, or just running around for some free play time. But because they are school-aged, that zone out time quickly turns into screen time. And you know what screen time for them means for me, right? (Hint: It involves screen time.) Suddenly, I found that in those first moments after school, we were all snacking and staring at devices instead of reconnecting. Though I hardly begrudge my kids for wanting to zombie out for 30 or so minutes after a long day of school, I did want to find a way for us to relax and recharge together instead of next to each other, which is when I started experimenting with ways to turn snack time into together time. It took a bit of trial and error -- that you can read all about, because even some of the ideas that didn't work for us may work for you -- but I finally figured out how to turn snack time into together time with one easy change to our routine. What I did may surprise you, especially if you have older kids. Check it out over on Cool Mom Eats, and let us know: How do you and your kids recharge in that first half hour after school?